People We Met

Cycle touring gives you many more opportunities to meet people than  touring by car.  The leisurely pace allows time for a cheery "bonjour" and wave from gardeners or a pumped fist and "allez" as you grind your way up a long uphill.  As on previous trips, we met a number of interesting people from across the globe.

The British

At various times through history, southwestern France has been under the control of not only the French, but the British.  Couple history with cheap airfare, low costs relative to England, and a nice climate and you get a strong concentration of the English.  We like them.  They're friendly, open, and many of them speak enough French to help us out in a pinch.

We met Phil and Fiona at our hotel in Bergerac.  Phil's a retired engineer and Fiona is a massage therapist who is transitioning towart retirement.  They were finishing up a week long bike tour of the area and they looked us up after seeing our trike.  We had such a nice visit discussing cycling that we ended up on a walking tour of the city and dinner.

The Australians

There was also an Australian contingent in attendance.  David and Heloisa, from Canberra, had been touring France on their Tri-sled recumbent trikes.  We had a great visit with them and enjoyed trading trike stories.

The Australians

There was also an Australian contingent in attendance.  David and Heloisa, from Canberra, had been touring France on their Tri-sled recumbent trikes.  We had a great visit with them and enjoyed trading trike stories.

"Les Cacateux"

A group of about 30 cyclists from across France, "Les Cacateux" (loose tranlation: the shits), is composed primarily of 3 brothers and an extended group of their college friends.  For around 30 years, this group of doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals has done an annual bike tour.  Unlike our form of unstructured, fully loaded touring, Les Cacateux have arrangements for baggage hauling, hotels, lunches, and dinners, plus they have a support van and a chase car of sorts (a very nice Audi) driven by non-cycling spouses.

We first met them in the early afternoon at at small port on the estuary.  Us a bit lost and them lolling around after a leisurely lunch (well lubricated with wine and cognac).  Attracted by our unusual bike, we were soon surrounded by a friendly  crowd - a few of whom took rides.  As noted elsewhere in this site, not long after meeting them, our bike suffered a sudden, major mechanical malfunction, and we ended up in the care of Les Cacateux.

After resolving our transportation issues, we crossed paths with them later that evening, when we crashed their dinner party.

Surprisingly, our paths were cross yet again.  The next day, as we drove through a small town, who should we see but "Gaston" and some friends.  They're on their way to lunch, and invite us to join them.  Unfortunately, we had just finished a fast food frenzy at the first McDonalds we had seen in 10 days, so we declined the offer to eat - but did stop for a glass of wine.

It's experiences of meeting people such as these that encourage us to continue our trips to France.

We are now official members of "Les Cacateux"

The Americans

You meet two types of Americans in France.  There are the tourists - generally, pretty easy to spot as they wander about the major sites, guidebook or map in hand, usually with a quizzical expression on their face.  They're pretty benign, and can provide some amusement - particularly when they're faced with something that's familiar, but with just enough of a French twist to totally screw up their logic (like a laundromat or pay phone).

More interesting are the expatriates.  Usually brought to France by work, love, or some combination of the two, they carve their niche into the local community.  Though they will never be completely accepted by their neighbors, their integration into local society is deep enough that to the tourist they are indistinguishable from the locals.

Dany, originally from the Pacific northwest, has lived in Pauillac for years with her husband Patrick, a graphic artist, their son, and their dog, Tucker.  In addition to operating a small B&B, the Hauselmanns also own an art gallery, featuring local and nationally-known artists.

Not all the people we met had only two legs...